Weis? Cmon...
2012 Program Preview - Kansas
Five years ago, Kansas won the Orange Bowl. They’ve since fired the head coach at that time and his replacement, who led the Jayhawks to a 2-10 record last year.
Can Charlie Weis turn this program around? I guess. It’s going to take a while. Hey, always helps to have a great basketball team if your football team isn’t that good.
After the jump, the prospects worth noting as well as some games and matchups to pencil into your calendar.
References
Rock Chalk Talk (SB Nation Kansas community), SB Nation team page, official team site, Bill Connelly’s preview for SBN, CBS Sports preview
Notable offensive prospects
| Name | POS | Yr. | Early projected Rd (notes) |
| Duane Zlatnik | G | RS Sr. | 7 |
| Tanner Hawkinson | OT | RS Sr. | 7 |
| Dayne Crist | QB | RS Sr. | UD |
| Daymond Patterson | WR | RS Sr. | UD (potential riser; groin injury) |
| D.J. Beshears | WR | Sr. | UD |
| Jake Heaps | QB | Jr. | 5 (ineligible 2012 after transferring from BYU) |
| James Sims | RB | Jr. | UD |
| JaCorey Sheperd | WR | Soph. | N/A |
Notable defensive prospects
| Name | POS | Yr. | Early projected Rd (notes) |
| Bradley McDougald | S | Sr. | 7 |
| Toben Opurum | DE/3-4 OLB | Sr. | 7 |
| Tunde Bakare | LB | Sr. | UD |
| Greg Brown | CB | RS Sr. | UD |
| Tyler Patmon | CB | RS Jr. | 6 |
| Darius Willis | MLB | RS Jr. | 6 |
Summary
I have no idea how I had this many fringe guys on a team that was so bad last year. It is what it is.
Key games
Northern Illinois (away) - Week 4 (Sat., Sep. 22 - TBD)
Following this game, the Jayhawks play four teams ranked in the top 25. They need a win in this out of conference game.
Iowa State (home) - Week 12 (Sat., Nov. 17 - TBD)
The only home game of the last four games of Kansas’ 2012 schedule, this is a winnable game that would help Weis improve on their 2011 record. Anything to break up a 10-game losing streak would do Kansas a world of good.
Key matchups
WR Daymond Patterson v. Kansas St. CB Nigel Malone, Week 6 - Sat., Oct.6
Should be a fair matchup between these two. Patterson suffered a groin injury in last year’s season opener, and sat the rest of the year out. In 2010, he led the team in receptions and yards.
DE Toben Opurum v. Texas Tech OT LaAdrian Waddle, Week 11 - Sat., Nov. 10
Opurum flashed solid pass-rush skills at times last year. I singled him out against Texas as being one of the better players on the field last year; he’ll need to be more consistent. The next game against Iowa State, he struggled to make a consistent impact in the backfield. Waddle should be an interesting matchup who can overpower Opurum, but is noticeably slower off the snap.
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